Royal Commissions & Commissions of Inquiry

Holding Redlich has extensive experience representing both organisations and prominent individuals in Royal Commissions and Commissions of Inquiry, such as the AWB (Oil-for-Food) Inquiry and the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry.

Renowned for its litigation and dispute resolution capability, our disputes team has deep experience representing clients called before public inquiries. We advise on all forms of public inquiries, including Royal Commissions and investigations by the Victorian Ombudsman, the Victorian Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) and the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

Expertise

We advise on all forms of public inquiries, including Royal Commissions and investigations by the Victorian Ombudsman, the Victorian Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) and the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

Our areas of expertise include:

representing senior government officials and entities in respect of investigations into protected disclosure complaints, and whistle-blower complaints

advising senior public officials and private individuals in investigations by IBAC and ICAC

advising entities and individuals in respect of Royal Commissions, most recently in respect of the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption

advising agencies on the conduct of internal investigations after the disclosure and reporting of corruption, and on human resources issues which accompany these disclosures

working closely with clients to identify key areas of investigation, and assist them to compile and review their documentary evidence in relation to the issues -

where compulsory document production is expansive in scope, we utilise external IT providers and paralegals to aid in the document filtering process, thereby limiting the scope and cost of production. Of course, costs are saved without compromising on quality, as the review is closely supervised by experienced senior lawyers.

working closely with our clients to identify the key legal risks presented by an inquiry

familiarising the executive with the processes of the inquiry and spend time preparing the executive to answer questions effectively.

where necessary and relevant we also retain and work closely with counsel and technical experts within and external to our client’s business, and obtain advocacy and other specialist expertise for the benefit of our clients.

when required, work with public relations consultants in relation to media strategies during inquiries.

Experience

Royal Commissions and Inquiries in which Holding Redlich has acted:

Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry (2001-2002)

AWB (Oil-for-Food) Inquiry (2006-2008)

Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission (2009)

Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry (2011-2012)

Royal Commission into the Home Insulation Program (2012-2013)

ICAC Operation Acacia (2013)

ICAC Operation Spector (2014)

Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption (2014-2015)

IBAC Operation Ord (2015)

ICAC Operation Scania (2016)

IBAC Operation Lansdowne (2017)

Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry (2018)

Recent Posts

While the Royal Commission spotlight has fallen heavily on the banks, the final report has also revealed some important lessons for managed investment funds.
We outline these lessons and why anyone who is in the business of managing other people’s money needs to pay attention to what the Royal Commission has said.

The Royal Commission into the Murray-Darling Basin’s report constitutes the most comprehensive analysis to date in relation to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
But it may take a Federal Royal Commission for the recommendations and findings of the Royal Commission to drive change.
Our water law expert Dr Joseph Monaghan summarises some of the 800 page report’s key findings.